1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slot machine having a plurality of BET input devices, and a control method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Background
Conventionally, a gaming machine named slot machine has been known. In a slot machine, generally, a game having the following procedure is repeatedly played: a plurality of types of symbols are scroll-displayed and then stop-displayed; and game media is paid out when the stop-displayed symbols form a predetermined winning combination. Such gaming machines are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,133, U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,993, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,102.
The conventional slot machine is generally provided with a BET input device (e.g. a BET button) with which game media (e.g. a medal, a coin, a bill, etc.) can be betted. The player can bet game media in an amount equal to or less than the predetermined upper limit, by operating the BET input device in each game. Generally, the amount of game media to be paid out is determined based on the amount of the betted game media, and the larger amount of the betted game media is set to result in the larger amount of the game media to be paid out. For example, in many slot machines, the number of coins to be paid out based on the winning of a prize in the case of a BET of a single coin (number of payouts per single coin) is determined for each type of the prizes. In this case, the number of betted coins being two may double the number of coins to be paid out, compared to the number in the case where the number of betted coins is one.
However, in the conventional slot machine, the amount of the betted game media is related only to the amount of game media to be paid out in the game in which that BET has been placed. Namely, the amount of the betted game media has no influence on a profit that the player may receive after completion of the game in which that BET has been placed. The player therefore does not consider the advantageous amount of game media to bet in the present game, from a long-term point of view, when placing a BET in each game. In this regard, a determination made by the player in betting is comparatively simple and has no strategy.
Thus, the inventor of the present invention has thought allowing the determination made by the player in betting to have a strategy may result in a further attractive game.
The present invention was made in view of the aforementioned issues, and an object thereof is to provide a slot machine capable of allowing the determination made by the player in betting to have a strategy, and a control method thereof.